Ambulatory Electronic Medical Record and Shared Access

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DESCRIPTION (provided by the applicant): This project will implement an ambulatory electronic medical record (EMR) across multiple and varied health care settings in a medically underserved region of east central Illinois. Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center (SBLHC), a not-for-profit community health care corporation, will serve as the fiscal agent and lead organization for a collaborative partnership to deploy an ambulatory EMR which improves patient safety and patient attitudes toward health information technology (HIT) by 1) providing shared access to patient records across hospital services, home health, hospice, and employed and independent physician practice settings and 2) integrating electronic tools for prescription orders and management of medications. Project partners include two private practice organizations, K.A. Fehrenbacher, M.D., Ltd., (family practice) and Urology Associates (urology practice of Roger Rives, M.D., and David D. DiDomenico, M.D., D.O.); and the Health Services Division of Eastern Illinois University (EIU), a regional, residential university with a current total enrollment of 11,522. Project evaluation will monitor measurable improvements in provider access and utilization of HIT, patient safety realized through the utilization of electronic prescriptions, and change in patient attitudes toward HIT. Project relevance: The project will lead to three significant changes in the utilization of health care information in the community: 1) timely availability of a comprehensive list of the patient's medications and known allergies, 2) utilization of better tools for improved clinical charting, and 3) integration of a consistent record across multiple settings.